Where and When: Offered annually by most project sites, these programs are usually offered as an after school and/or Saturday series during the academic year. Project sites or the CISP statewide office (209 946-2280) should be consulted for details. Examples include Windows on the World (IECIS), Unresolved World Problems Seminar (FIRST), and the Contemporary World History Project (Statewide Office).
Standards, Content and Grade Level: The California History-Social Science Content and Skills Analysis Standards provide opportunities at virtually every grade level to enrich curricular offerings through attention to current events and/or contemporary world issues. The specific programs mentioned above are typically for grades 9-12.
Program Description: The purpose of these programs is to develop insight into selected worldwide patterns of social, economic or political behavior as these relate to global or cross-national issues such as immigration, international security, world markets, global health and the environment. Participants make connections among peoples, ideas and events; consider subjects in a variety of relevant contexts; and view the world or global issues from a range of perspectives. In addition to the academic content, emphasis is on history-social science analysis skills: identifying bias and prejudice in reference and resource materials, providing evidence to support arguments, linking the past to the present, and recognizing the complexity of historical and contemporary events.
Additional Information: These programs demonstrate CISP’s commitment to sponsoring professional development programs with explicitly defined and connected activities for the students of participating teachers. They illustrate the project’s interest in translating the abstractions of international studies and world affairs into concrete experiences for students, especially students from low-performing schools.
Funding: Some programs are sponsored through core state and federal support provided to project sites. Philanthropic foundations dedicated to contemporary world affairs support others. Sometimes a program fee or some form of cost sharing is required.
California International Studies Project